Getting started

The First Steps.

Hand Feeding:

Has your horse ever been hand fed? If not, then this is where you may wish to start. But safety first! Put your horse into a stable or behind a gate or other protective barrier. Use a clicker in one hand and, as you present a small amount of food in the other hand, click.

Be careful to stand well back and use an outstretched flat hand so that your horse cannot mug you for food.

It’s a good idea to start with small chunks of food – such as apples or carrots about
½” or 12mm square. The horse will find it easier to take a single chunk, rather
than a small amount of grain. Trying to get the last grain or nut can occasionally
lead to nipping with a horse that is new to clicker training. As your horse becomes
more clicker savvy, you can feed other treats more easily.

Targeting:

The next stage (or if your horse is good about taking food from the hand you can start here) is to introduce targeting.

You can use any handy safe item as a target – a brush, cone, bucket lid, etc.

Present the target in a position where the horse can easily touch it – almost can’t avoid touching it.

Work behind a protective barrier as shown in the photos. When the horse touches the target, immediately click and as quickly as possible, present the treat.

This sounds (and is) very simple but it is worth practising with a friend before going to the horse. You need to hold the clicker in say, your left hand, present the
target with your right hand, ‘click’ as the horse makes contact, then quickly withdraw the target (put it into your left hand and out of sight) and feed your treat. Another hand would be useful but as we are limited to two hands, it takes a little practise to get this smooth. The smoother it goes, the better for your horse and the more quickly they will ‘get it’.

As you repeat the targeting you will see the ‘lightbulb’ moment in your horse….. the
moment when they think “ hmmmm….. if I touch this thing, I can train my human to give me treats! ”